


'Tis the Season to Try Not to Strangle Your Family

by lucifersfavoritechild



Series: Holiday Fics [2]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Mending Relationships, Or trying to, Stephen with a baby, Tony with a baby, baby Stark-Strange, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 15:24:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17103134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucifersfavoritechild/pseuds/lucifersfavoritechild
Summary: Tony had to go and invite the Stranges to their house for Christmas, huh?(originally on Tumblr)





	'Tis the Season to Try Not to Strangle Your Family

“Did we take a wrong turn?”

“How could we?” Bev asked, frowning at her phone. “We went exactly the way Google Maps said.”

“I told you I don't trust that thing.”

“Oh, like you're any better! You could get lost going to the backyard!”

“Hey now, that was one time and it was dark! Just call Stephen and ask him for help.”

“Like Hell I am—”

“Daddy,” Sarah said, looking up at Victor in the backseat, “Nana said a bad word.”

“I know. It was terrible.”

“Oh, zip it, Vic.”

“When will it end? She knows no shame.”

“Boy, do you want me to make your dad pull over and leave you on the side of the road—”

“I see the house!” Eugene shouted over them. “It's— is that a house?”

Bev, Victor, and five-year-old Sarah leaned towards the windows, staring at the house. “Holy— heck,” Victor said, green eyes wide. “I knew Stephen's sugar daddy was rich, but I didn't know he was mansion-on-the-ocean rich.”

“Victor, what did we say about—”

“I'm just getting it out.”

“What's a sugar daddy?” Sarah asked curiously.

“It's something you don't repeat in front of your uncles.”

Eugene sighed. “We're off to a great start.”

* * *

“Are the guest rooms ready?” Stephen asked, rearranging the presents again.

“Unless someone's broken into our house with the sole intention of making a mess in the bedrooms,” Tony said, finishing a dish of mostly edible deviled eggs. “Told you I could handle dinner.” He looked over to where Stephen was now fiddling with the tinsel over the mantle. “Stephen, I swear to you, if that one particular garland doesn't already look right, it's not going to.”

“Tony, would you just—” He huffed, frustrated. “I know, _I know_ , I'm just nervous.”

“Hey.” Tony went to stand behind his husband, wrapping his arms around his chest and holding him. “It's gonna be fine. Everyone is going to be on their best behavior, it's gonna be Donna's first Christmas, it'll be fun. And this way if we get tired of your family, we can kick them out.”

“What, and leave them stranded and alone in California for the holidays?” Stephen said with a wistful smile.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Best present you've ever gotten me.”

“I thought the calendar from last year was pretty good.”

“You looked lovely. Especially in February. And it was only slightly awkward to have to explain a pin-up calendar my husband made to people.”

“Knew you liked it.”

Before Stephen could retort, the doorbell rang, sounding throughout the living room. “Sirs,” Jarvis said, “it appears that the other Stranges have arrived.”

“I'm not a Strange anymore, Jarvis,” Stephen pointed out.

“My apologies, Doctor Stark-Strange. Although I feel as though you're ignoring the point.”

Stephen sighed, throwing a dirty look at the hallway leading to the door.

“I'll get it,” Tony said. “And you can get Donna ready.”

Stephen smiled. They'd only had their daughter for a few months, but Stephen already loved her more than anything else. Seeing her first thing in the morning was an easy way to put him in a good mood. “I'm gonna put her in the elf onesie.”

“Don't forget the little hat,” Tony yelled back, jogging to the door. “Hey, you guys made it!” Tony said with exaggerated cheer. “We were just talking about you.”

* * *

“You ready, Donna?” Stephen asked, holding up his daughter.

Donna gnawed on her hand and mumbled something incomprehensible, gazing at the wall.

“Me neither.” But he'd already put it off long enough, and even if he could stay in the nursery, he'd have to go to the kitchen to make Donna a bottle. “Into the lion’s den.”

Holding Donna up, Stephen dragged himself into the living room like he was going to his execution. Tony was already speaking. “I'll show you around, you guys are in the guest rooms—”

“Is that her?” Beverly asked suddenly, staring at the baby in Stephen's arms. “Is that my granddaughter?”

Stephen resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “No, mom, I've taken up hyper-realistic dolls at thirty-nine.”

Bev ignored, immediately going over to sweep Donna from his arms. Stephen bit back a protest, raising a hand to protect her head. “Oh, hush Stephen, I've held babies before.” She started to coo at Donna, who for her part was looking at Stephen, clearly demanding to know who this crazy woman was and when could she leave.

 _Oh who am I kidding_ , Stephen thought, looking at Donna's wide, empty blue-and-brown eyes. _There's nothing going on in there._

Stephen waited as long as be physically could before taking Donna back. “Okay, time for lunch. Mother, wasn't Tony about to show you your room?”

Bev had a pinched look, but only nodded and said, “Of course.”

“Hold on,” Victor said, immediately drawing his family's attention. They watched him with bated breath.

“You haven't met your niece.” He looked down at the shy girl standing behind him. “Sarah honey, these are your uncles, Tony and Stephen.”

Sarah peeked out at them. “Hi.”

Tony, always a sucker for kids, immediately bent down to see her. “Hi, Sarah. Are you ready for Christmas?”

“Yeah.”

“Well that's good, because your uncle and I got you lots of presents, _possibly_ too many.”

Stephen sighed, shaking his head where he stood behind his husband. It started when Tony had gone wild buying Donna Christmas presents. So much so in fact that Stephen had stopped him and demanded he donate some of it because, _No single child needs this many toys, Tony, honestly._ But the holidays seemed to spur something in him, and soon he found himself buying thousands of dollars worth of toys for charity, which Stephen was more approving of. They came full circle when Victor asked if his daughter Sarah could join them for Christmas, and Tony had already started ordering stuff before the conversation was over.

“Tony,” Stephen said, “if you're done buying the child's love, you can show them where to put their stuff. I'm sure they want to rest for a bit.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Stephen silently thanked him as he led the Stranges upstairs. “Did you bring swimsuits? Because there _is_ a pool, and a hot tub. The jacuzzi is private though.”

Stephen looked down at Donna. “I am so grateful your dad is dealing with them so I don't have to.”

Donna gurgled.

“I knew you'd agree.” He set her down in the swing they had in front of the Christmas tree while he made her a bottle.

Donna thought that the Christmas tree was the best thing to ever be invented. She could sit in her swing and just stare at it for over an hour and be perfectly content. It was great for when they wanted to get something done without interruption. Now if only they could find a way to make her stop trying to eat the pine needles . . .

“Everyone's settled in,” Tony announced, walking down the stairs while Stephen arranged Donna's blankets to hold up her bottle. “And I think they got your hint about resting, so we probably won't see them until dinner.”

“Perfect.”

Tony smiled as he approached Donna, careful not to obscure her sight of the tree as he sat next to her. “And how's our little angel?”

“Decidedly more angelic now that she's eating.” Stephen looked at Tony, eyes suddenly serious. “Tony.”

“Yeah?”

“If this time goes badly,” Stephen began, his voice low and cold, “we're _done_. No more inviting them over, or going all the way to fucking Nebraska to see them, we're just _done_. We'll cut off all contact. They will _maybe_ get an occasional Facebook message, but nothing else.”

“Okay.”

“And— what do you mean okay? You're the one who's been the cheerleader for this particular disaster.”

“I know. And I've done all of this because I want you and me and Donna to be part of a family. But you're more important to me than that, and we can be a family on our own.”

As Tony spoke, Stephen felt a weight being lifted from him. When Tony was done, Stephen went to his knees in front of him and pressed his face against his husband's stomach, kissing him as lightly as breathing. “One chance.”

“One chance.”

* * *

“How was your drive?” Stephen asked over dinner. The Stranges sat on the opposite side of the table, while Tony was to his left, feeding Donna from a jar of peach baby food.

Tony frowned when Donna spit it out. “You liked this last week.”

“It was fine,” Eugene said, sitting in between his wife and youngest son, with Sarah next to Victor, playing with her green beans. “Got a bit confused coming up on the house, but we made it alright.”

“Good. Good. Tony, if she doesn't want that, give her one of the corn ones, and if she doesn't want _that_ , just give her a bottle.”

Tony nodded, going to get a fresh jar of baby food. An uncomfortable silence passed over them.

Bev tried to break it. “Do you mind if we put our presents under the tree? They've just been sitting in the trunk since we got here.”

“That’s fine.”

Tony returned to the dining table, cracking open the jar. “Okay, Donna, let's see if you like this.” Donna curiously let Tony feed her before spitting the mush out. “Now you're just being difficult.”

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Victor asked, popping one of the deviled eggs into his mouth, to Tony's delight and Stephen's annoyance.

“We were planning to take it easy,” Stephen explained. “Just going to sit down and watch some Christmas movies before dinner.”

Victor made an amused noise.

“What?” Stephen asked. Tony turned to watch them, his hand tensing around Donna's spoon. Stephen knew his voice was cold. He was perfectly ready to throw his brother out if he pushed it, though he didn't think he would be able to turn away Sarah.

Victor shrugged casually. “Just thought you guys would be busy this time of year. Parties and all that.”

“We did,” Tony said before Stephen could speak. “Lot of charity events, too. But we like to get all of that out of the way before Christmas so we actually have time for each other.”

Victor resisted the urge to snort. Tony counted it as progress.

* * *

The rest of dinner was a quiet, awkward affair that ended when Tony announced it was time for Donna to go to bed.

“I'll take her, Tony.”

Donna fussed when he picked her up, but it was all show. Soon, she laid her head against his chest and yawned tiredly, ready for bed. Stephen stopped short of leaving the kitchen, stopping to look back at his niece. “Sarah, do you want to see your cousin before she goes to bed?”

Sarah looked up in surprise, turning to her father for approval.

Victor nodded encouragingly. “Go ahead.”

Sarah slid from her too-high chair and toddled over to where Stephen was standing. He knelt down so that they were on eye level, Donna cradled by his arms.

Sarah looked down at her cousin. “Goodnight, Donna.” She pressed a gentle kiss to the baby’s forehead before quietly returning to the table.

Stephen stood back up with something resembling a smile. “Goodnight, everyone. Tony, I’ll see you in our room in a bit.” Without waiting for a response, Stephen turned and carried Donna away to her nursery. By then she wasn’t even pretending to fuss, allowing her dad to put her in the crib.

Stephen turned on her mobile, quiet, gentle notes filling the room. Stephen stood there for a long time before leaving.

* * *

“Morning, cuddle bear,” Tony said with a wave as Stephen walked into the living room, obnoxiously cheerful. “Donna, look, papa’s up.”

Donna attempted to wave at him with her rattle.

Despite himself, Stephen smiled and waved back before turning an annoyed look on Tony. “I thought we agreed to leave behind the annoying nicknames.”

“I didn’t think it was annoying.” Tony threw a blanket over Donna. “Where’s the baby?” He pulled the blanket away, looking shocked to find his daughter. “There she is!”

Donna thought this was delightful.

“She always falls for that one,” Stephen commented from the kitchen. “Did you leave me some coffee?”

“Enough to keep you from strangling your brother for at least an hour.” He repeated the trick with Donna, who liked it exactly as much as she had before. “Hey, do you want to watch the new Grinch movie?”

“Ugh,” Stephen groaned. “I hate remakes. There's nothing wrong with the old version — _either_ of them.”

“Now _you're_ being a Grinch.”

“It's a cash grab!”

“Well then consider my cash grabbed, because I bought it. Jarvis?”

Without responding, Jarvis darkened the mirror-wall, transforming it into giant TV. Soon, the new Grinch movie was playing while Donna watched, completely enraptured while she gnawed on her rattle.

Stephen sighed before deciding to ignore it, choosing to get started on the holiday hot chocolate.

By the time he had filled a tray with steaming hot mugs, Sarah had joined Tony and Donna in the converted living room. She took a cup from him without ever turning her attention from the screen. Tony followed her example.

Stephen set the tray down on the coffee table and rested against the couch, holding Donna in his arms. _I guess this isn’t so bad._ Halfway through the movie, Victor, hair mussed and dressed in pajama bottoms and a ratty old tshirt, stumbled in. He looked at them, opened his mouth to say something annoying, then closed it and joined Stephen on the couch, grabbing a a mug of hot chocolate.

Stephen didn’t notice Bev and Eugene joined them until his mother said, “Well that was nice. Why don’t we watch Rudolph next?”

“Way ahead of you, Bev,” Tony said as the screen transitioned into the next film.

Stephen chuckled, relaxing in between his brother and his husband.

* * *

They spent hours just watching movies, with only occasionally movement from people getting up to go to the bathroom, get snacks, stretch, or tend to Donna or Sarah. Tony rested against Stephen, his head leaning into Stephen’s side and their legs pressed together. The Stranges were quiet, Victor on the couch with his brother, and Bev and Eugene on a different one with a blanket over their laps. It all felt so . . . homey.

Stephen didn’t know how to feel about that.

Afterwards, they had a mostly peaceful dinner. The closest they came to an argument was when Victor made a comment about them “wintering” in their California mansion.

Once they were done eating, Stephen excused himself to put Donna to bed. He took his time giving her a bath and putting her in her Christmas pajamas. By then, she still wasn’t ready to sleep, so he spent some time holding her in the rocking chair, quietly singing so as not to disturb the others. When he was done, Donna was asleep, breathing lightly, barely moving her chest.

 _She’s so small_ , Stephen thought, lightly drawing a hand through her downy hair. Moving carefully, not wanting to wake her, Stephen pressed a kiss to his daughter’s forehead. “I love you, Donna. And I'm never going to hurt you, or abandon you, or make you feel unloved. _Never._ I promise.”

“I'm sorry.”

Stephen’s head shot up. He stared at the door. “Mother.”

Beverly was crying, a hand over the lower half of her face as it scrunched up in despair and shame. “I’m so sorry, Stephen. I never . . . I didn’t want to . . .”

“I know, mom,” Stephen said, standing awkwardly with Donna in his arms. “I know.”

Bev was sniffling, looking genuinely pathetic for the first time since Stephen could remember.

Stephen opened and closed his mouth, thinking of what to say. “I don’t know. I think I want to. Part of me wants to, if only for Donna’s sake — both of them. But when I look at you . . . I feel so angry. The kind of anger that hurts.” His eyes softened almost imperceptibly. “But we can try.” He turned away from her to lay Donna in her crib. “Good night.” He walked past Bev to join Tony in their room.

When he first walked in, Tony smiled. “Hey.” His face fell when he got a good look at him. “Are you okay?”

“Uh . . . I don’t know. I think I need you to . . . I don’t know . . .”

“Do you want me to hold you?”

“God, yes.”

Stephen joined him on the bed, snuggling into Tony as he wrapped his arms around him and set his chin on the top of Stephen’s head. Tony ran a comforting hand up his back. “Are you okay?”

Stephen thought about, listening to the beat of Tony’s heart. “I will be.”

* * *

Stephen woke up in a much better mood than last night. Might have had something to do with the way Tony was straddling his hips, dressed in a short red dress with faux fur trim and a wide leather belt, complete with Santa hat and gloves.

“Merry Christmas,” Tony said with a grin, wiggling his hips. “Gonna tell me what you want?”

Stephen smiled and sat up, grabbing Tony by the legs to pull him closer. “I think you already know what I want.”

“Well then come and get it.”

Growling, Stephen pulled him in for a kiss, right before the baby monitor sounded with Donna’s high-pitched screams.

Stephen groaned, falling back against the bed. “Well that’s a mood killer.”

“Fucking tell me about it.” He started to get up, but then the crying stopped, followed by the soothing sounds of someone comforting Donna.

 _“There there, baby girl,”_ Bev said, _“I’ve got you.”_

Tony and Stephen looked at each other. “Well,” Tony said, reaching over and grabbing the monitor, turning it down. “Would you look at that.”

* * *

Stephen reclined on the couch with a smile, watching Donna happily pull apart wrapping paper and completely ignore her actual gifts. “I think she really likes the metallic paper,” he said to Tony, who was videoing the entire experience.

Tony was smiling so wide it looked like his face was going to split open. “I know!” He handed Donna another piece of wrapping paper from a baby toy phone, this one Grinch-themed. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

Nearby, Sarah was tearing into her presents with equal fervor, although she actually seemed to like the gifts themselves. “Is this a real robot?!”

“Merry Christmas,” Tony said, turning the camera to her.

“Awesome!”

Stephen leaned forward, quietly asking Tony, “That doesn’t have real A.I., right?”

Tony hesitated before saying, “Of course not. Don’t be silly.”

“Uh huh. You better fix that before they leave.” He leaned back with his hot chocolate, taking the moment to relax. Of course, that’s when his father decided to join him on the couch.

“Morning,” Eugene said, holding a steaming mug of dark coffee.

Stephen nodded his acknowledgement. “Dad.”

Eugene looked around the room, taking a long sip of his coffee. “Think we can do this again next year?”

Stephen looked at Tony and Donna, living it up in a massive mountain of wrapping paper. “I think we can consider it an option. Baby steps.”

Eugene nodded. “Baby steps.”


End file.
